Day 6 Shenzhen – China Trade Mission

After we depart from Macau, our next destination is the port city of Shenzhen on China’s Mainland. I am especially fond of Shenzhen since it has a sister city relationship with my hometown Houston, Texas.

Upon arrival in Shenzhen we will be greeted with a reception of the local Shenzhen City Government officials and have a brief presentation of the local economic growth of this vast and growing city. Later in the afternoon we will have a tour of the Shenzhen container port with a guided tour led by port authority officials. While in Shenzhen, we will be staying at the 5 star, Marco Polo Shenzhen.

Shenzhen is sub-provincial administrative status in southern China’s Guangdong province. Shenzhen is due north of Hong Kong. Shenzhen became China’s first – and ultimately most successful – Special Economic Zone under the economic liberalization from the policies of reformist leader Deng Xiaoping. 20 years ago, Shenzhen was a small sleepy fishing village of about 200,000, is not one of the largest container port cities in Southeast Asia with a poplulation of over 12 million. Shenzhen has become one of the largest cities in the Pearl River Delta region, and has become one of the enconomic giants of China. Shenzhen is home to the largest manufacturing base in the world.

Shenzhen has been the fastest growing city in China for the past 30 years.The Shenzhen population structure is divided into two opposing groups: intellects with a high level of education, and migrant workers with little or no education. In June 2007 statistics show that over 20% of China’s PhD’s worked in Shenzhen. A large number of people travel from Hong Kong to work in Shenzhen each day, while a large number of students travel from Shenzhen to Hong Kong daily to study. Each day, both groups must travel through customs and immigration checkpoints since the travel between the two is restricted and highly regulated.

Shenzhen’s GDP totaled just over $100 billion USD in 2007, up by 14.7 percent over the previous year. The Shenzhen economy grew by 16.3 percent yearly from 2001 to 2005 on average. Shenzhen is a major manufacturing center in China. In the 1990s, Shenzhen was described as, “one highrise a day and one boulevard every three days.” The Shenzhen skyline has 23 buildings at over 600 feet tall, including the Shun Hing Square (the 9th tallest building in the world).

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China Stock Market and the 2008 China Investors Field Trip.

Coming to you live from China on the 2008 China Investors Field Trip.

See you tomorrow,

Jim Trippon, CPA
Editor-In-Chief
China Stock Digest

P.S. Don’t forget about the special offer going on while I am in China. Order between now and October 24th, and receive $100 off the regular subscription price.

1 Year – $297 – includes $100 Off

2 Year – $497 – includes $100 Off